Biography

Prasanna Puwanarajah (Tamil: பிரசன்னா புவனராஜா; born 1981) is a British actor, director, writer, and former junior medical doctor. Puwanarajah was born at Ipswich Hospital in Suffolk to Tamil Sri Lankan parents from Sri Lanka, his mother a psychiatrist and his father a dentist. He spent his early childhood on Churchill Avenue in Ipswich before the family moved to Hampshire when he was four. He participated in school plays and spent a season with the National Youth Theatre, but thought of acting as more of a hobby than a career choice at the time. He trained in Medicine at New College, Oxford. After working as a junior doctor in reconstructive surgery for over three years, Puwanarajah decided to take a year out. It was during this time he decided to become a full-time actor, describing it as "more of a strong pull towards something else" than a "push away from" his medical career.

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Filmography

View The Crown
The Crown

The Crown

2016Series
8.2
View Silk
Silk

Silk

2011Series
7.5
View The Sarah Jane Adventures
The Sarah Jane Adventures

The Sarah Jane Adventures

2007Series
7.1
View Patrick Melrose
Patrick Melrose

Patrick Melrose

2018Series
7.5
View Too Much
Too Much

Too Much

2025Series
5.7
View Critical
Critical

Critical

2015Series
6.8
View Payback
Payback

Payback

2023Series
6.3
View You, Me and the Apocalypse
You, Me and the Apocalypse

You, Me and the Apocalypse

2015Series
6.8
View Ten Percent
Ten Percent

Ten Percent

2022Series
5.5
View The Listeners
The Listeners

The Listeners

2024Series
4.2
View The Gunman
The Gunman

The Gunman

2015Film
5.8
View The Stoning of Soraya M.
The Stoning of Soraya M.

The Stoning of Soraya M.

2009Film
7.7